Action Has Magic, Power, And Grace

Even though my familiarity with Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s work is quite lacking — “Faust” is the only thing I’m familiar with — the man shared a number of ideas that resonate with me.

My intention, with this essay, is to look at one of the ideas Goethe shared.

Rather than outlining a method, or set of methods, outlined within the idea, we’re just going to riff off of the quote and figure out how it relates to the business of living and being.

My hope is that this essay provides a dose — a mild dose, if nothing else — of inspiration, as well as some enjoyment and fascination!

A Special Quote

Whatever you think you can do, or believe you can do, begin it. Action has magic, power and grace. A man sees in the world what he carries in his heart.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

No matter who you are, or what it is that you desire, you can begin something.

You can begin the act of bringing forth what you desire.

Right now, you can do this.

The action — or actions — that you take may not be particularly significant.

But, in taking action, you begin something.

Something that, should you wish to continue moving forward, will come forth, while also fulfilling the needs and aims you possess.

Of course, there’s a little more to this.

For, in this quote, Goethe makes special mention of what you think, and believe, you can do.

Your beliefs, as well as the assumptions you carry about yourself, are creative.

Creative, in the sense that they serve as the foundation upon which much of who you are, and much of the life that you live, rests upon.

In a way, we are all confined to the limitations of what we think and believe we can do.

Along those same lines, we see in the world what we carry in our heart.

For what we carry in our heart is what we believe and assume to be true.

Or, to go along with that, the sum total of our own sensibilities and aims, along with what it is that we find to be beautiful and desirable, within the vast abundance we live within.

Just as we see in the world what we carry in our heart, we act in ways that align with our beliefs and assumptions regarding what we can do.

Since this is the case, there is value in moving with those beliefs and assumptions, to begin something that we desire and, in turn know/believe we can create.

Even more than that, though, there is magic in action, as well as power and grace, which allows us to expand our skills and abilities, giving us the confidence to pursue greater heights.

Greater heights that align with our own sensibilities and desires, rather than those that were given to us by the people and forces surrounding us.

To reach those greater heights, we can work with what we have, and desire, right now, allowing ourselves to be swept up in the choices and paths that action, in all of its magic, creates.

Take Action, Right Now

Right now, you can begin something.

Something special. Something lovely.

You can begin to create what you long for.

The action you take to begin this creation may be simple.

Even if this action is simple — something as simple as reading about a place you wish to visit or coming up with a vague outline for a creative project; along with an infinite number of other possibilities — it is creative and there is magic in this action.

The magic within this action is that of momentum.

Or, at least, in my experience, you can define this magic as “momentum”.

For one action leads to another; and so on and so forth.

Even more than that, though, action itself, when it involves engaging with the world around you and, in turn, other people, appears to serve as a conduit for forces and circumstances to align.

The act of catching up with an old friend — someone you were close to, but haven’t spoken to in a while — rooted in a desire to create better friendships, can lead to that person inviting you into their friend group which, in turn, leads to a variety of social events and delightful memories.

Or, perhaps, the act of sharing a creative work with someone else — someone you trust — can lead to them sharing it with someone else and this might lead to a new set of opportunities.

The possibilities are vast and infinite, yet also somewhat unknown.

No matter what, though, you can begin something and, if you hold in your heart the possibility for novelty and abundance — along with so much more — to emerge, then it will.

Even though this Medium blog is centered around our ability to create and sculpt the lives we wish to live, there remains, in my view, a great deal of that which we cannot foresee.

A great deal of positive, transformative events and circumstances, that is, which we are unable to foresee, but can always draw forth, through our actions, and other methodologies.

Sometimes, the easiest way to draw these events and circumstances towards us, is to take action.

To begin something new.

Soon after we begin something new, we can begin to surrender, while taking action when appropriate, to the paths and opportunities that arise.

Conclusion

Just like the essay published previously, this was a brief, probably somewhat incoherent, riff on a basic idea/powerful quotation that resonates with me very much.

My hope is that the basic themes and ideas within this essay resonated with you.

Even more than that, my hope is that these themes and ideas inspire you to begin something.

To begin something meaningful and exciting, allowing that to lead somewhere special.

As always, thank you so much for reading!

If you want to reach me, for any particular reason, you can do so at “maxwellcakin@gmail.com”.

Thank you so much for reading and have a lovely day!